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Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Modeling Multiple Sclerosis in the Two Sexes: MOG35-55-Induced Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis
Published on: October 13, 2023
Sex differences in autoimmune disease
1Barbara Volcker Center for Women and Rheumatic Disease Joan and Sanford Weill Medical College of Cornell University, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY 10021, USA. LockshinM@hss.edu
Abstract:
Female/male ratios of autoimmune diseases range from 10:1 to 1:3, with similar severity between the sexes. Men and women respond similarly to the infection and to vaccination, arguing against intrinsic sex differences in immune response. In autoimmune-like illnesses caused by environmental agents sex discrepancy is explained by differences in exposure. Endogenous hormones could cause sex discrepancy if their effect is a threshold off-on switch rather than quantitatively variable. X-inactivation and imprinting could cause sex discrepancy. Other possibilities include chronobiologic differences and pregnancy and menstruation biologies in which men differ from women.
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